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First of all, let's talk about metrics. Metrics are crucial to the success of any direct mail campaign. A little forethought about the goals will ensure that your direct-mail campaign is a major success. What do you consider success? Planning is everything. Define the criteria for measuring success by tracking cost per lead, response rate, and Return on Investment (ROI).

2. Target your very best, most potential customers.

When you are procuring a mailing list, always make sure that the data you’re retrieving is targeting your best customers and flourishing with opportunity for the unique requirements of your business. The biggest advantage that direct mail has over other advertising mediums is that you can directly and specifically target your best customers. With direct mail, you don’t waste your advertising dollars blasting your message out over the airwaves to everybody. Your best customers meet a very specific demographic criterion. Target them specifically. Direct Mail is sniper rifle. Every other advertising medium is a shotgun. Aim accurately!

3. Be absolutely clear about the benefits to your customer.

The goods and services that you are offering is the best factor contributing to the success of any direct mail campaign. The hypothesis, proposal, or invitation must clearly state the features and the benefits to the customer. Remember: features don’t sell… Benefits do. How does your product or service benefit them directly? What is in it for them personally? That is one of the things that makes direct mail so effective… you can target your offer to a very specific group and predict with some accuracy how they’ll respond. This is where time-limited offers, freebies, or other benefits can tip the scales in your favor. Decide on one main benefit rather than throwing in too much information for the customer to focus on. Keep it simple and relevant. Make sure that you call them to some kind of action, i.e. buy now, call today, limited time offer, etc...

4. Employ QR Code technology into your mail piece.

The goal with direct mail is to capture their attention, peek their interest, then play to their curiosity with an irresistible offer and call them to action. You want them to take the direct mail piece that is in their hand and immediately scan in the QR Code and go in to your website. Your “Call to Action” should involve scanning in the QR Code and moving the customer to your online portal. Your website should have all of the information they need to make a purchasing decision and close the sale. Also, the branding, colors, and imagery of your website should match the look of your mail piece. Be consistent.

5. Do not overlook even the smallest detail.

Careful oversight of fulfillment and mailing services is crucial. Make sure your documents are proofed and ready before submitting into production. Make sure you supply all of the required data fields when you prep the data. Make sure the number of records you send over is the correct number from your master list. Verify everything. Make sure everything is producing and printing properly. Let multiple people proofread.

6. Test and then test again.

Every mailing you send out is part of your active test marketing. The effectiveness of your direct mail campaigns can always be perfected by testing and retesting the mailings you are promulgating. Timing, message clarity, creative effectiveness, response rate, offer, and other criteria can easily be gauged through tracking the data and monitoring response rates. Document every statistic and track the variables over multiple mailings. Do not skip this step. It is imperative that you figure out what is working and what is not. Do not make assumptions. Test it.

7. Measure & evaluate.

Measure results accurately and track your success factor-by-factor and campaign by campaign. This is how you will determine the cost per lead and ROI. This will help you budget accordingly for all of your marketing efforts. It pays to know the truth. So don't ignore the truth.

8. Mail repeatedly to the same list. Be consistent.

Response rates go up with each consecutive touch. Don’t mail to a list just once, get frustrated and give up. Make sure your offers, your branding, your color schemes, your messaging, your contact information, etc…. is consistent mailing to mailing. You also want the branding to match whatever you’re doing with any of your marketing projects. You want the customers to recognize that this is related to the previous offer they received earlier. Response rates go up with each consecutive hit.

9. Make it easy for all of your customers to respond.

Optimize the design of your direct mail pieces to illicit a response. Remember, customers will tend to want to respond using different communication mediums. Don’t limit their options. Offer customers a choice of response mechanisms and repeat them often. Always have a QR Code, but also include your written web address, email, phone #, etc… This will greatly increase the probability of rapid response. Don’t just talk about your product or service and assume that the customer will be so impressed that they’ll do whatever it takes to contact you. Give them options. Keep it simple. Always repeat the offer and the expiration date. Call them to action.

10. Enjoy the fruit..

Now that you have tested, evaluated, and executed your successful direct mail plan and enjoyed a very healthy ROI, you have all the tools you will need to confidently and proficiently pre-plan your next direct mail campaign. Always remember, direct mail is proactive rather than reactive. Manage and direct the entire “marketing to purchasing” process.

Making Direct Mail Work for You!!

Direct Mail Marketing is an essential and invaluable tool when seeking to build and sustain profitable relationships with current and prospective customers. Whether you need to purchase a mailing list or utilize your own database, there are several creative ways USAMail.Direct can add value to your mass mailing projects. Boosting your sales and growing your business by reaching your customers with a message that is tailored to that specific audience will translate into increased revenue and brand loyalty. Because you are specifically targeting your very best clients, direct mail is the easiest and most cost effective way to achieve such consistent and measurable growth results.

Reactivating old accounts and retaining existing accounts does not happen without persistent contact via direct mail to your existing customer base. A successful direct mail campaign remains the method of choice for discerning businesses to stay in touch with current contacts. It is a well-known fact, that the best place to get more business is from your existing customer base. Personalized follow up and constant contact via direct mail is a critical step in the process of effective customer retention. The mailing of informational material can also start generating new business from existing contacts almost immediately. Also, announcing changes in your company's organization, products, or services will initiate curiosity which could encourage prospects and existing customers to take action now rather than later. Educating your customers with informational newsletters and brochures is invaluable to retaining your current customers. However, providing quality information takes time, research, and professional expertise. The ability to target a specific audience, like your existing clientele, is perhaps the most attractive aspect of direct mail. That’s why it is called “Direct Mail” …it’s very nature allows you to directly contact those specific customers that are the most beneficial to you.

Developing your brand, or enhancing your market presence and increasing sales volume in existing accounts is the most cost effective manner to grow revenue. To get the most “bang for your marketing buck” it is best to retain the assistance of a professional direct mail company that knows all of the ins and outs of the mail and print industry. There are so many ways to keep costs under control. The biggest way to save money is by using a CASS Certified and PAVE Certified mail marketing company. In order to help you qualify for maximum postage discounts and quick delivery service, USAMail.Direct. presorts and pre-barcodes your mail while adhering very strictly to postal guidelines and regulations designed to ensure the best deliverability and the biggest discounts in postage.

The other area where expert help is a necessity is in layout and design of your mail piece. It is mission critical that your marketing piece is designed to travel through the mail stream seamlessly without any obstacles or delays, or additional postage assessments. USAMail.Direct mail piece design analysts are unmatched anywhere else in the industry. Successful companies realize and exploit the fact that direct mail is one of the most cost effective methods of sales promotion, but they also realize that it has to be done right. Organizations looking to strategically accelerate business growth, keep the attention of these specific target markets at the forefront. They also know that they need the professional services of a company like USAMail.Direct if they want to exceed projected sales and marketing goals. It’s time to put Direct Mail to work for you!!